Welsh Government data shows a 72% increase in the number of rough sleepers in Wales compared to 2015.

On the night of the 3rd November 2016, the Welsh Government undertook their second annual rough sleepers count covering the whole of Wales. The count includes a two-week information gathering exercise followed by a one-night snap shot count.

This data provides a one-night snapshot of the numbers of those sleeping rough across the country.

On the night of the count 141 people were observed sleeping rough compared to 82 in 2015.

Key findings:

* 72% increase in the number of rough sleepers across Wales since 2015 – snapshot one-night count (82 in 2015 and 141 in 2016)

* 30% increase in the number of rough sleepers across Wales since 2015 – two-week information gathering week estimate (240 in 2015 and 313 2016)

The cities with the highest number of rough sleepers on the night of the count were Cardiff with 53 (up from 30 in 2015) and Wrexham with 27 (up from 17 in 2015).

Mia Rees, Public Affairs and Research Manager at The Wallich said:

“Looking at both the Welsh Government and our own statistics it is clear that, although the Welsh Government has taken steps, not enough is being done to prevent rough sleeping in Wales.

It is incredibly concerning to see this large increase across the whole of Wales and we hope that both the Welsh and UK Governments take notice of this worrying trend.

Our Rough Sleepers Intervention Teams (RSITs) collect data on the number of people they have contact with every day along with delivering humanitarian aid, support and advice to people that are sleeping rough or are vulnerably housed across Wales.

Data information we collect for Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend and Swansea is available in our reports.

Our figures have shown a consistent rise in the number of rough sleepers in all areas, apart from Bridgend, over the last three years.

Our figures show:

* An 11 % increase in the number of people sleeping rough between 2015 and 2016

* On average over 330 people sleep rough every month across south Wales

* In 2016 our RSI Teams worked with 1,221 people in Cardiff alone.

We pride ourselves on being the only homelessness charity in Wales to collect data on rough sleeping and couldn’t do it without the support of the general public. If you’re interested in supporting our charity visit our website to find out more”.